Loki74

I'ma be eating pig toes and beans while asking someone throw $100+ on my leather goods. I guess if it really goes bad I can pull a Charlie Chaplin and start eating my stewed leather.

I still have people tell me I can't use olive oil. One old saddle maker told me my reins would end up being mice attractant. If that were true then I don't see the mice preferring olive oil over neatsfoot unless they were Italian mice. I've never had any problems with using it.

I know I'm kinda necroing the post but just thought I'd share a quick 45 second video on rounded corners. This does take a good bit of practice but doesn't require darting and looks more finished imho.

Was surprised I didn't get at least one response, lol. Here I go jumping in blind, heh. So I figured I would share my experience so far so maybe others can learn some things. 1. It smells a bit like cat pee. I'm not even joking, lol. After Tokonole on the flesh side and Feibing's Leather Balm on the hair side it seemed to lessen the smell. 2. I found no need for oil. It really is buttery soft. I'm pretty sure buttero doesn't mean butter in Italian but it certainly does to me working with it. 3. I'm loving the leather balm as a top coat. It let's the buttery hand feel to still come through while leaving a nice sheen. It's not a cheapy looking shine either just a nice beautiful luster. 4. I'm foregoing an edge burnish and using rolled edges. It does burnish up beautifully but those rolled edges are turning out too beautiful. I'll post other stuff if I come across any other peculiarities to it. If anyone else has any other things to share or thoughts on my process feel free to chime in.

I can't speak to either of their courses. I did order a pattern "e-book" from Joe Meling, though, and thought it was pretty skimpy for the price. I think his youtube videos are good and he seems like a good teacher but that pattern book was mighty skimpy.

That's a bit like asking what a standard ladies hairstyle is like. Anyway, my basic bifold that I sale is 4½" X 3⅝" X 1" thick folded. Beyond that it pretty much runs the gamut. Add in trifold, truckers and different variants of all those and you can see it's pretty much subjective.

To quote Bob Rossi, "There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents."

Try switching to a paste. I've found the gels really tend to eat through the resist more for some reason. I've also found bee natural RTC be better for me.

So I have a customer requesting that I make him a copy of his beloved 50 year old trifold wallet that is falling apart. He requested it be super thin as well. The only leather I found to match it is the Walpier Buttero Taupe split to 1 oz. So I've never worked with Buttero and had some questions I hope you guys can help me with. 1. Do I oil before sealing just like any other veg? I normally use olive oil as well. 2. If I do oil should I use something other than olive oil? 3. Any special sealer I should use? I was thinking Feibing's Leather Balm with atom wax. 4. Any other things I need to consider while working with it.

Went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Boss today. Got every accessory they have minus the pony they sell for it. So all in with the accessories and shipping it came to $1509.00. I think I'll be pretty happy with it. I've been swinging my 1.5 lbs. mallett for years punching stitch holes so I don't see pulling that arm being much trouble. I'll just pretend I'm playing slots.

I looked at the CB2500 and I just think the feed dogs are a bit too aggressive for some of the work I do. The CB3500 would more fit what I do but is way out of my price range. Plus I need lift gate service on the CB2500 which brings it to about $1700 before any accessories. Eventually I plan to go with something like the CB3500 with a servo motor but I'm not sure the 2500 is the right fit for me.

That and the two zipper feet were included in the Boss package that I would have to buy extra with the cowboy. Thanks for the responses. I'm leaning more towards the Boss currently. It looked pretty bulletproof to me, hearing others confirm it helps a lot.

I fully expect some arm fatigue regardless, lol. Beats the fatigue and time of hand stitching though. Hopefully some day I'll be able to get better gear. The deep throat of the outlaw is a nice plus to me. The boss has a package deal with some good accessories that the outlaw doesn't come with. Any idea how durable either of them are?

So I need to be able to use #277+ thread and sew thick leather. I don't have the room and can't afford a heavy stitcher. I can afford around $1600 all in, shipping included and I currently don't have high enough demand where a hand crank is going to bother me. I do have high enough demand where hand stitching ends up costing me more money in time. So I'm wondering if either the boss or outlaw will be a good way for me to go? Anyone have any experience with either?